Marco Island Causeway The sky was threatening and I wondered how much longer I should wait for the clouds to break. The first couple drops convinced me to give it up. By mid-morning the clouds began to break up, the sun shone bright and I saw why Florida is called "The Sunshine State". Thought for … Continue reading Florida Sunrise
Category: Travel
Searching for Contact Lens What a time to lose a contact lens! Sarasota Beach, 2019. Thought for the Day: Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.Thomas Edison
Resting Comfortably Another interesting site I found along Sargent-Ord Road in northeast Custer County, Nebraska is this barn squatting on its haunches. With the words, "Cross Wind Mercantile" painted on the front, it appears to have been a business, possibly an antique dealer. The white vinyl fence in front looked totally out of place, as … Continue reading Sagging Barn
Alone The lone chair sits on top of a hill overlooking the playground of a Tanzanian elementary school. The usual occupier of the chair is the manager of the school's lunch program, where she takes her break from the kitchen's heat. There is no other "furniture" in the area; no picnic tables, no benches, no … Continue reading Alone
Knife Sharpening A Datoga tribesman puts a fine edge on his hand made knife. He shaped the blade from scrap metal and gave it a rough sharpening. Then he heated the metal over a wooden fire, stoked red hot by hand made bellows. When the blade was red hot, he doused it with water to … Continue reading Hand Made
Priority One Choo is the Swahili word for “toilet”, one of the first words learned by Western visitors. This photo was taken at a Mosaic primary school near Moshi, Tanzania. It is a woman’s toilet, possibly named “Lucy”. The second line on the sign translates to “Take Care of the Toilet”, and the third line, … Continue reading Choo
Hmmm, Now What? This pooch is a little too curious for its own good. Now I see why dogs/pets are not allowed in National Parks. Actually, this is a composite of two separate photos: 1) my Westie looking off the edge of a boat dock, and 2) view from Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. … Continue reading Lost Dog
Chagga Banana The predominant tribe around Mount Kilimanjaro in northern Tanzania is the Chagga. Except for a few Maasai, most of the people I met with during my two week visit were Chagga. One of the highlights of the trip was a dinner hosted by the Bishop of the Northern Diocese, Dr. Frederick Shoo, an … Continue reading Chagga Banana
Machame Hospital - Motorcycle Ward Machame Hospital, near Moshi Tanzania, has been in operation since 1906, when German missionary doctor, Dr. Herman Ploetze, arrived. It has grown to a 230 bed facility owned by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Northern Diocese, and treats over 150 outpatients daily. Cheaply made Chinese motorcycles driven by risk-immune … Continue reading Machame Hospital
Uduru Preschoolers Happy children, learning how to socialize, follow rules, cooperate with others, satisfy their curiosity and expand their knowledge. These are students of the Uduru Parish Preschool near Moshi, Tanzania; dressed in the uniform purple sweater, some with matching hats and others wearing hats of the Tanzanian flag colors. Today there are over sixty … Continue reading Eager Learners
Neema Orphanage Children in this Tanzanian orphanage remove their shoes and stack them neatly outside the door before entering their living quarters. After the initial wave of hysteria over the balloons, the children settled down and waited patiently for their care givers to blow up a balloon for each of them. The plaque below the … Continue reading Balloons
Serengeti Campfire It was a very tough day, viewing Mother Nature in its most basic form: new born zebra and wildebeest, the Great Migration, predators, every creature searching for food while avoiding not becoming another's meal, exotic birds, survival of the fittest, circle of life, etc. A full day of watching the Nature Channel in … Continue reading Safari Campfire
I met this little guy by accident, searching for the choo (toilet) behind a children's center in Moshi, Tanzania. He was alone, but I could hear distant sounds of a preschool classroom. His face was full of questions, but smiled when I greeted him in Swahili. Bashful, yet engaging, he didn't try to speak. I … Continue reading New Friend
Coming in from the bright midday sun, it took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Surrounded by empty space, the cavernous interior of the Notre Dame de Rouen cathedral was lit only by natural light that filtered through the stained glass windows behind the altar, which was hundreds of feet from … Continue reading The Light
Market Day Market Day is the busiest day of the week in the small village of Mwiki, Tanzania. Farmers bring their produce, and merchants bring their wares. Bananas are the most popular food item traded at the market. Just about anything you think of can be found at this open air market. Grains, fruit and … Continue reading Going Bananas
Omaha Beach To celebrate the 60th anniversary of D-Day, the Les Braves Memorial was placed on the shores of Omaha Beach in 2004, near the village of St. Laurent-sur-Mer. It was meant to be a temporary exhibit, but popularity and public demand has kept it in place. Without even knowing the story/meaning of the sculpture, … Continue reading Les Braves Memorial
Paris - Left Bank In Paris, the best spot for viewing the famous Notre Dame Cathedral is from the Seine River's Left Bank. The tree lined sidewalk along the Left Bank is crowded with artists of all kinds; like the one in this picture or others selling paintings of Notre Dame, glass work, pottery, postcards … Continue reading Sidewalk Artist
County Kerry Ireland: always lush and green. Johnny Cash called it "40 Shades of Green". Aye! The Emerald Isle. With all the rain that falls it's no wonder everything is green. Words like "clouds", "mist", "wind" and "rain" are common in daily weather forecasts. Do not expect to see the sun rise or set in … Continue reading Irish Mist
40 acres of sunflowers On US 136 five miles west of Fairbury, Nebraska, I found a sea of sunflowers in full bloom. Three feet tall, standing shoulder to shoulder, soaking up the bright sun with hardly a cloud in the sky. Pollinators were gorging themselves. It was a great day to be a sunflower! Thought … Continue reading Sunflowers
Monet's Grave Claude Monet is buried in the Giverny church graveyard along with all of his children. As expected, the otherwise simple plot is full of flowers. Thought for the Day: My wish is to stay always like this, living quietly in the corner of nature.Claude Monet
